This invention relates generally to bracelets, and is concerned in particular with non-expansible linkage bracelets of the type used with wristwatches and the like.
There has been a long felt need for a non-expansible linkage bracelet comprised exclusively of top and bottom links which are separately fabricated from either the same or different materials, and which are interconnected by an arrangement of bendable locking lugs and cooperative receiving apertures hidden beneath the decorative top bracelet surface and located inwardly from the bracelet side edges. Preferably, the locking lugs are all bent in one direction parallel to the bracelet length.
A bracelet of this type offers a number of important advantages. For example, where the decorative top surface is to be fabricated from a relatively expensive alloy of a precious metal, and is frequently the case, the manufacturer can realize important cost savings by fabricating the bottom links from another less expensive metal. Preferably, this other metal will be of a type which is more resistant to corrosion and deterioration caused by exposure to perspiration from the wearer's skin. An example of another such metal is stainless steel, which in many cases is also used for the top links. By isolating the locking lugs and their cooperative receiving apertures from the top surface of the bracelet, the manufacturer's choice of decorative designs is neither restricted nor adversely affected thus making it possible to provide a much more attractive bracelet. Because the locking lugs and their receiving apertures are located inwardly from the bracelet edges, these edges can be shaped by grinding to further enhance the overall decorative appearance of the finished product. The use of locking lugs on the top links and receiving apertures on the bottom links to interconnect both sets of links simplifies assembly procedures, and where as in the preferred embodiment the lugs are all bent in one direction, automated assembly is greatly facilitated.
The known prior art non-expansible linkage bracelets have failed to satisfactorily meet this long felt need. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,712,582 (Renz); 1,684,977 (Tost); 2,263,383 (Kestenman); as well as in German Pat. No. 726,942 and British Pat. No. 825,617, the top and bottom links are interconnected by means including bendable lugs or tabs protruding inwardly from the bracelet side edges, thus making it impossible to subsequently shape the bracelet edges by a grinding operation.
The non-expansible bracelet linkages of U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,901,345 (Carlson) and 1,854,857 (Prestinari) each have at least three components, all of which are visible at the top surface of the bracelet. British Pat. No. 969,454 also discloses a non-expansible bracelet linkage having three components.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,720,235 (Prestinari) and British Pat. No. 969,454, as well as in all of the other patents mentioned above, pairs of locking lugs or tabs are bent in opposite directions towards each other, thus complicating automated assembly and in many cases also providing a restriction against subsequent grinding of the bracelet edges.